User blog:Supahbadmarine/Analysis of Imperial Military Response
(Hello! Just for fun I decided to analyze the various levels of military resistance an invading army would encounter while attacking an Imperial world. For the purposes of this exercise I will be writing in my persona of an evil overlord, while addressing young, or inexperienced enemies of the Imperium. Have fun reading! Supahbadmarine 20:11, December 12, 2011 (UTC)) Good evening! If you are reading this then you are likely a new scourge to the galaxy who is trying to get an idea of what you will encounter when attacking your first imperial world. Otherwise you are an old pro who has decided to read for the enjoyment of it, or to compare notes. I, Supahbadmarine, will now outline the various levels of resistance that can be expected when attacking such world, when one can expect to encounter certain levels of response and roughly what you will be dealing with at each level. I hope you find my notes educational. Miscellaneous Voulunteers (Lowest) This level is made up of the common citezenry, and non-combatant adepts that suddenly decide to put up a fight. Generally not a very threatening level. Not at all really, but we still need to address it as you will likely end up dealing with these ad hoc Imperial Troops, and in rare cases they may actually cause you problems. Now, the people of the Imperium have their own problems, whether it be the poor peasants or the stuffy nobles. Furthermore these people have been taught by years of oppression to lie down and die whenever someone with actual firepower comes along. As such most of these people are just sheep ready for you to slaughter them. However the constant struggle for survival, and class warfare between the Bourgeois and the Proletariate have made them rather irratable, and they don't take kindly to a third party adding to their troubles. So when you attack, they will defend. The majority of miscelllaneous troops will be simple militia. These are the average everyday citezens of the Imperium. They may take up arms for various reasons. Some may feel some strong inclination to protect their land, or families. Other times the Imperium's military forces will not deem them worthy of protection, and thus they are forced to fight for themselves. These kinds of troops will pose little to no threat to your forces. They rarely have any sort of military training, are generally disorganized and will easily buckle under pressure. They are usually armed with an assortment of various forms of equipment such as tools for farming or Manufactorum work, various odds and ends like cooking pans and sometimes that will have Stub or Auto weapons. Though these people rarely pose any threat to your men, you should still be cautious. If you threaten to take what little a man has left, you may find that he fight tenaciously for it. A sub-category of these normal Militia troops are Frateris Militia. Occasinally a Ministorum Priest will rouse his flock into a bloodthirsty mob to oppose you. Now these stupid believers are almost exactly the same as the aforementioned people. However there is one major difference. These people fight with strong religios zeal. This means that their morale is going to be higher than the normal militia, and they are going to attack more aggressively. In the worst case scenario some of these Zealots will take the martyr's approach to warfare and make suicide runs at your men. Finally the Priests that lead these faith driven fools can sometimes be rather tough themselves. Now we're getting to some of the militia that may actually kill a few of your guys if you're too lazy. Now while most of the people you fight at this level never learned how to use a gun to defend themselves, not all of a planet's inhabitants are strangers to violence. In Hive worlds we have Hive Gangs for example. These brutes are undisciplined and poorly equipped (usually), but they are also pissed off and used to killing to obtain or keep what they have. If you attack their Hive they will fight back, and with all of the savagry you would expect from hardened killers. If you go so far as to attack the Underhive you will be faced with yet more dangerous foes. The inhabitants of these levels of the hive are the most hated criminals in their community. Furthermore you will find Mutants and Abhumans that have made their homes in the depths. Now for a Chaos commander these factions may prove to be a boon. This is because they have suffered the worst abuse that the imperium has to offer, and are usually more than happy to join the Ruinous Powers for some payback. However it sin't a sure thing, and they may attack you anyway. The inhabitants of the Underhive will not likely be as well equipped as the Gangers, but years in the harsh Underhive will have made them more tough and brutal. If you are attacking a hive with an active Space port, or a planet that sees a lot of traffic, then you may find yourself dealing with offworlders. Pirates, merchants, slavers and bounty hunters may be found amongst the rabble. Now these types usually look out for themselves in a crisis, and are likely to simply get off planet when possible. However if they are too late for that, or they are feeling daring they might offer their services to the local Imperial troops. You never know what you will get with this bunch. Many will not be very effective soldiers, but some of them will be trained killers with years of experience, and many notches in their belt for kills. Since these guys have the resources to travel between planets they will likely have much better equippment than any of the previously mentioned combatants. Finally we have the nobles. For the most part the nobles of any particular world will fancy themselves too important to go shedding blood in the trenches, and will leave the hard work to everybody else so that they can drink tea in a nice air-conditioned bunker. However sometimes members of noble houses will rise to the challenge in order to protect their planet, and bring glory to their families. Sometimes they will have had some proper training in the arts of combat. They will also bring their bodyguards, and hired mercenaries along with them. These can form some of the most elite, and best equipped forces in a planetary militia. You are likely to encounter this level of response no matter what the circumstances. If you attack a planet, then you will most likely have to deal with the people living there, even if it is a bore. I suggest that you avoid/ignore these forces during the initial attack. If they are in your way, or launch an attack on your forces then by all means crush them, but it is more important to go for the throat of the more dangerous forces first in order to establish superiority. You can then go back, and pick them off like baby deer whose parents you recently killed.(Hehehe. You won't be growing up to be king of the forest this time Bambi!). Still, keep your eye out. In rare cases these forces may surprize you. In the worst case scenario some nameless punk discovers that he has a brave and valorous heart, and decides to start his career as a hero of the imperium with your invasion.(Ugh! Disgusting.) Planetary Defense Forces (Mid-Low Level) Alright! Now we move on to actual military forces. Much like the Miscellaneous Volunteers, it does not matter what planet you attack, you are going to encounter Planetary Defense Forces. The difference is while the previous foes may or may not put up substantial or organized retaliation, the PDF will. Many young scourges to the glaxy tend to disregard the PDFs, as they rarely put up the same level of challenge as the Imperial Guard. However you will find that the majority of troops you fight in your career may very well be these forces. Consider if you will, the largest military force in the galaxy, the Imperial Guard, recruits its personnel from only a percentage of each planet's military, and/or civil population. So the true bulk of the Imperium's military forces actually lie in the many Planetray Defense Forces across its territory. In addition to this no force know more about the planet you are attacking, and how to fight on it then the planet's PDF. So if enough of them survive till imperial reinforcements arrive, they can offer their expertise and numbers to the Imperial Guard, or whoever else comes to save their pitiful lives. Thus it is essential that you quickly eliminate the local troops of the world you're attacking. 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